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4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Intel

Market-trouncing returns could be written in this 4-star.

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, computer chip king Intel(NASDAQ:INTC) has earned a respected four-star ranking. While five-star stocks have been the best performers, our data has shown that four-star stocks still outshine the market by a significant margin and shouldn't be taken lightly; conversely, low-rated stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Intel's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Over on CAPS, fully 1,183 of the 1,319 All-Star members who have rated Intel -- some 90% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These Fools include DemonDoug and skymutt2, both of whom are ranked in the top 20% of our community.

Last month, DemonDoug listed several of the stock's bullish points: "12B in cash, 2B in debt, as others have noted they have a virtual monopoly again as AMD has basically left the higher end markets, and the Core i7 series of chips that became available yesterday appears to be a real winner."

In a more recent pitch from two days ago, skymutt2 agrees, elaborating on Intel's financial strength:

Buy chip stocks low, sell em high-- but avoid the ones who burn cash and have a lot of debt, because raising capital is no joke anymore. Intel's a good safe play here, with a rock-solid balance sheet and with still-enviable margins. Seems a good debt to be trading well back in the 20s once this recession ends.

What do you think about Intel, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 120,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.